Pennsylvania worried about lower bids
The first bid to operate mini-casinos in the state came in at US$50 million; the last one was just US$8.1 million.
US.- Last month Pennsylvania began the bidding process to locate ten new mini-casinos throughout the state in order to increase current government’s funding. Mini-casinos’ revenue would be allocated to community benefits, such as educational programs and health systems. However, results have not been the expected as the licenses are approved.
“As the process goes forward and all of the prime locations are scooped up, the bids should continue to decline, and possibly dry up altogether,” writes Online Poker Report analyst Steve Ruddock.
Last January, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced the winning of the first casino licence auction, granting the local company – Penn National Gaming – permission to operate a gaming salon near Pennsylvania’s southern border. The first bid to operate the casino was set at US$50 million.
The winner of the second licence – Stadium Casino LLC – bid US$40.1 million to operate a mini-casino which will be located near Derry Township. Meanwhile, the gaming authority granted the third licence to the Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association LLC for US$50.1 million, for a mini-casino in the York area.
However, the fourth and so far final bidder – Las Vegas Sands Corp. – has only bid US$9.9 million with a proposed project to build a casino within 15 miles of a location chosen in Hempfield Township in north-western Pennsylvania’s Mercer County. Having successfully won it, financial experts are now waiting for the fifth licence application to study whether new casino licenses would be profitable enough for the state.
